Investing in the Business of Alpacas

Raising Alpacas

Raising alpacas can be a sound and profitable investment for a wide range of situations. Whether you own a small piece of property of a couple of acres, manage several hundred acres, or have no acreage of your own, there is an opportunity to participate in the growing alpaca industry.

Imagine hugging your investment! What would it be like to have your portfolio hum to you? The lovely and lucrative alpaca can provide you with refreshing new ways to increase your income and enjoy life.

The importing of alpacas from South America has been closed. Each alpaca born in the US is blood-typed before registering, and almost all American alpacas are now registered. This practice helps keep our American standards high, our animlas healthy, and our breeding practices more focused on growing the best alpaca fiber in the world. Alpacas are also fully insurable, making your investment safer.

Alpaca ranching can be approached from different perspectives. Many ranchers own and board a few alpacas on small properties zoned for livestock, even in the city. Some choose to expand, and have several acres in a more rural setting. Still others with no land of their own choose to agist-- pay a fee to have their animals fed and cared for on someone else's property while reaping the benefits of ownership.

Alpacas are easy to manage, even for first-time livestock owners. They require minimal fencing and shelter, and a simple diet of hay, grain, grass and supplements, similar to other herbivorous herd animals. They are gentle and sometimes shy, and are a good livestock choice for families with children. They even make good 4-H projects for budding ranchers.

The current demand for fiber is far greater than what we are able to produce in the United States today. Because alpacas reproduce at a slow rate (gestation is 11 months), developing the national herd will need to be the focus of the alpaca industry for the next several years. Fiber production is the end goal, so the number of alpacas will need to increase. This makes the demand for alpacas higher, as well as the prices. A wonderful opportunity is open today for profit as well as tax advantages in the alpaca industry.

How Do I Get Started?

The first thing to decide on is your purpose for raising alpacas. Are you interested in having a few animals to produce fiber for your personal use? Would you like to breed alpacas to coincide with your current lifestyle? Are you thinking about beginning a herd now to provide for your future income?

Any way you approach alpaca investing, there is no time like the present to begin your research! Visiting ranches in your area is one of the best ways to get a feel for what you would like to do. There is nothing like that first time a cria nuzzles your hand, or standing in the pastures hearing mothers and crias humming to each other.

Search the web. The American Breeders Coop (ilovealpacas.com) has links to alpacas ranches all over the United States, many of which will be near you. Ranchers love to hear from you, and are eager to share their enjoyment of the alpaca with visitors. We are mainly a group of small entrepreneurs who are working together to build a national herd so the US will have plenty of the wonderful luxury fiber for the next generation of fashion products.

There are small ranches with 3 or 4 alpacas, and large ranches with well over 100 animals. Nationwide, the average ranch has approximately 8-10 animals. Many of these small ranches have been able to produce award-winning alpacas. And don't forget about the possibility of agisting-- boarding your animals on an established ranch, either temporarily while you prepare your facilities, or permanently if you plan to maintain your present lifestyle.

There are about 65,000 alpacas in the United States today, so the need for expansion is great in order to meet the future demand for fiber. A larger initial investment gives you a headstart in building your herd. And how many other investments can you count on to reproduce themselves every year? Call a local ranch and plan a visit today. There is no better time than right now to begin your adventure into the investment you can hug. Alpacas are the most wonderful livestock around, and they produce fiber that can be turned into the world's most luxurious clothing.